Some embodiments described herein relate generally to systems and methods for locating a wireless device within a compute environment that lacks or has limited interior physical barriers.
Some known systems for locating wireless devices can be vulnerable to imprecision in the received signal strength indication (RSSI) measurements supplied by access point (AP) sensors communicating within the systems. A particular challenge for such systems can be locating a device within a space that lacks internal barriers, such as a convention hall or warehouse. In contrast to an office with many internal walls, attenuation of signal strength due to distance is typically relatively small in spaces that lack or have limited internal walls, so RSSI provides only a gross estimate of distance. Thus, such known systems can typically determine the room in which a wireless device is located, but can not necessarily determine the location more specifically within the room.
Also in such spaces, multipath reflections are relatively unimpeded by distance, which can lead to distorted or ambiguous measurements. A further limitation of known RSSI-based location systems is overall sparseness of information to support an output decision, because a large number (e.g., at least four) of fortuitously-placed AP sensors are typically used to produce an unambiguous location result. Additional AP sensors can be placed to increase location accuracy; the addition of AP sensors, however, can add expense to the system due to the high costs of AP sensors.
Accordingly, a need exists for devices and methods for locating a wireless device within a compute environment that lacks or has limited interior barriers, such as a conference center or warehouse, with accuracy and precision without the use of additional AP sensors.